ATI - NVIDIA

[iflog]

I am looking to upgrade my graphics card and was wondering what would be the best available for around $100 - $150



Dell Inspiron 530
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E6550 @2.33Ghz
3 GB Ram
GeForce 8300 GS

I do a lot of gaming and graphics work

Thanks

 

[jyjjy]

This for $102;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102824
or this;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131327
$135 after mail in rebate and $10 off promocode: EMCYZZX68
Those are the best choices between $100 and $150 but it depends on what kind of PSU you have and whether or not your case is the "slim" version.

 

[henrystrawn]

I don't mean this to sound like a "sweet lemon" rational, but I just upgraded to a XFX HD 5770 from an overclocked PNY 9800 GT 1 GB. Using Unigine Heaven v1.0 benchmark, I tested both cards in DX10. The 5770 scored 1538 vs 990 of the 9800 GT. if you have the room for the larger card 10.5" and your power supply is minimum 450 Watt. I highly recommend it. I was getting tired of Nvidia's heat production and higher wattage requirement. This is the first ATI card I have bought since a 128 Rage pro. I bought the 'egg shaped' newer design card, it has larger radial cooler, with a bigger thus quieter fan. It idles at 41c. I gave the DX11 benchmark a whirl and I must say tessellation really adds depth. I think that the HD 5770 will keep you happy through the adoption of DX11 in games. I haven't done any ray trace or mental ray renders yet, but based on the benchmarks I am sure it is an improvement.

 

[paperfox]

http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/dell-inspiron-530-desktop/4507-3118_7-32953389.html?tag=mncolBtm;rnav

according to this you only have a 300w psu. looks like you need to upgrade it along with your new card.

 

[jyjjy]

Or get an HD4670

 

[deadlockedworld]

If you have a full case your best option is probably to get a new power supply for ~$40 and the best $110 card you can get (a GTS 250 or ATI 4850)

This would be a good combo for about $140 [strike]$150 after shipping.[/strike] (Edit: both of my awesome choices had free shipping)
(corsair 400cx+sapphire 4850)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008&Tpk=corsair%20400cx
and
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102824&cm_re=4850-_-14-102-824-_-Product

If you made the mistake of buying a slim case your upgrade will be much more difficult.

 

[jay2tall]

^+1 for Deadlockedworlds suggestion. That is assuming you do not have a slimline case.

There is a $46 (after$25 + $6 shipping) OCZ 500W PSU. Just as an alternative to the 400W corsair
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341016&cm_re=ocz_500w-_-17-341-016-_-Product

 

[iflog]

I purchased a NVIDEA 9500 GT and a 500 watt power supply both with tax and shipping for $89 and everything is working fine. Thanks for the replies.

 

[sabot00]

That 9500GT is quite bad, far worse than even the 4670, the 5770 & 4850 completely blow it out of the water (about 3-4 times better).

 

[deadlockedworld]

If you have any option to return that you should. It was not a good choice.

 

[iflog]

The main reason I upgraded my video card was because I play games on line that need a good card. I wasn't able to play those games previously. Now I have no problems with any of them. The card seems to have taken care of that. As I said, thanks for the advice and I'm sorry I didn't take any of the choices mentioned. I'm sure they are all good cards.

 

[sabot00]

Well not to nitpick but how do you know how good the 9500GT is if you are simply comparing it to an IGP?

 

[iflog]

What I did was get on the phone with Dell and ask them what they thought a good card for my computer was. They recommended the 9400GT. I asked them about the 9500GT and they said it was a better card but I would need to upgrade my power supply also. A friend that I play some games with also has a Dell with the same 9500GT and he told me it was incredible. I checked it out on line and found a review site that had it rated 4.7 out of 5 stars with over 300 people weighing in. That is why I made the decision to go with it. As I indicated, I am pleased so far. The graphics in all my games are perfect. If I have any problems with it, I will come back in here to let you say "I told you so".